Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes

Close your eyes. Picture that it’s a summer afternoon in late August. You find yourself on top of a large hill in the countryside; lying in an open field of fresh green grass. The sky is clear, and you can feel the warm sun caressing your skin as a gentle breeze provides sweet relief on this hot and tired summer day. As you gaze up into the storm free skies you slip away into daydreams and wish this day could be preserved and relived indefinitely. Well, it can. Fleet Foxes have captured the essence of the perfect lazy summer day in their self-titled album, Fleet Foxes. As I listen to the record I am happily transported to a time of simple pleasures. 


Coming to our ears from Seattle, Washington, Fleet Foxes is the brainchild of Robin Pecknold and Skye Skjelset. The pair started writing music together in high school on guitar and vocals. When their music began to thirst for additional elements they teamed up with Casey Wescott on keys, Christian Wargo on bass, and later Joshua Tillman on drums. Each player is vital for the music to survive, as maintaining the ever-weaving orchestral motion provides oxygen for the songs. They have since expanded their instrumental artillery even further to include woodwinds, the mandolin, and of course the ever present tambourine. The tambourine may not have been a new experiment, but my what a presence it has!

With tunes self-described as “Baroque harmonic pop jams,” Fleet Foxes does not fall short when blending these genres together to create a mystical musical experience, though I would argue that their sound is more Renaissance influenced than Baroque. Their self-titled album is reminiscent of early 1960’s folk rock with elements of bluegrass mixed in. Their thick layering of vocals creates a haunting hymn-like experience, which reaches perfection when coupled with the lush orchestration used throughout the album. 



Fleet Foxes achieved a unified feel for their record without falling into the trap of monotony. One of my favourite songs on the album is "Blue Mountain Ridge." It begins with mandolin heavily influenced by late-Renaissance/early-Baroque music and introduces matching vocal harmonies before launching into a much edgier modern feel. Well, as edgy as folk rock can be. Japanese influences can be heard as well through the perpetual use of the pentatonic, which creates a delicious combination for hungry ears. 



The final track of the record, “Oliver James,” takes a step back from the heavier instrumental elements and ends with a single voice. This is a brilliant decision because it leaves the listener feeling fresh as the album ends.



Fans of Iron & Wine will enjoy this band. While Fleet Foxes has a brighter sound, the two bands evoke a similar sense of peaceful freedom through themes of simplistic natural beauty. After listening to this record it is clear to me that the members of Fleet Foxes do not simply play music; they are musicians. Their attention to detail and intelligent orchestration, as well as their seamless combinations of contrasting stylistic elements, make them quite a respectable musical force. I can only hope we will be taken along for more of their creative journey in the future. 



Check out the Fleet Foxes myspace for tour dates and catch a show in a town near you:
Fleet Foxes MySpace.

pitter patter!

i love when it rains. it is on rainy days that i open my blinds and let it all in. sunny days do not grab me with the same fierce hold.

here is a video of a dance routine choreographed to Priscilla Ahn's "Rain." i don't know who any of the people in it are, but i wanted to share the loveliness of the song and there were not many video options. i figured dance would portray the song's beauty in a way that a grey's anatomy montage could not. hah



i became very distracted during this post. i've been in about 4 different rooms throughout and that says a lot since i have only written about 4 lines. i guess this means i shall depart and write more later. i have a semester's worth of architecture assignments to tend to.......

under the influence

jay brannan updated so i thought, "why not me??"

so hello.

i am perpetually hungry. i looked "hungry" up on google images. i like to do this randomly to see what the world would see if they searched for my feelings as pictures on the internet. next to millions of images of actual starving people was this joyously gluttonous yellow ball of smiles. and yes, this was the first image.



here is my version. i just spent forever doing a very detailed depiction on photobucket:




kristen just asked me if i like tegan and sara. no. no i do not. i actually can't stand them. i don't understand the trend there, their voices are obnoxious. am i just being a bitch? okay, i didn't think so.

i got the internship at WPRB in princeton. i don't know what hours i'm going to do this summer, but i do know that i'm doing it. i need to infect the airwaves with the musicians i love who aren't getting enough playtime. a few such artists are will knox and soren bonke's "klak tik." yes, they are both european extractions. their music is so amazing though.


here is a picture of soren bonke. i feel like i am violating him or something by posting it because it is from his facebook and all other mediums appear with the same picture (a photo different from this one) so...whatever. it's a lovely shot, and i needed to share it:



his myspace.